School funding rose despite budget cuts

April 18, 2008|Tallahassee Bureau Chief Linda Kleindienst.

Q Before the vote on Amendment 1, you swore that Florida's schools would be held harmless in the cutbacks that would have to happen if the amendment passed. Now that it has passed, why are schools having to return money and prepare for even less next year?

Rosalind Matthews, Naples

A In our recommendation to the Legislature before the session began, we actually asked for and found a way to pay for not only holding education harmless but increasing education by $1 billion more, even during these lean times.

So, I'm keeping my promise and I'm working with the House and Senate to get them to do more by utilization of the rainy day funds. I view it as a bridge to Florida's economic future. These rainy day funds were prudently put away - almost $7 billion worth. We're recommending that just over $1 billion be utilized. So, we protect and preserve a significant amount of that rainy day fund and we keep it in the bank. It gives us the opportunity to pay our teachers more and improve public education in Florida.

The good news is that [public education] continues to improve, mostly because of accountability measures. We used to be 14th in America in public education achievement. Now we're seventh in the country.

Note: The House and Senate will begin their budget negotiations in earnest this week, striving for a compromise state spending plan that can take effect on July 1. The House is proposing a $86 reduction in per-pupil public school spending because of the budget shortfall. The Senate has called for a $116-per-student cut. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 2.